A midlife career change can feel like trading everything you've built for a leap into the unknown — especially when you're starting over in a field that doesn't know your name yet. If you're a woman over 40 staring down a layoff, a restless feeling, or a career that no longer fits, the question isn't whether to pivot — it's how to do it without throwing away 20 years of hard-won expertise.Joanna Ehresman spent 13 years as a senior marketing executive in wealth management before a layoff forced the question she'd been avoiding: what do I actually want? Her answer was interior design — a passion she'd dismissed for decades as impractical. Using a job shadow strategy and the transferable skills she already had, she created a brand-new role at Fika Design Group without a design degree, a portfolio, or a clear plan. Six months in, she's not looking back.WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:▸ [00:03:34] Career pivot decision-making: why defaulting back to the same industry after a layoff can stall your second act — and what to do instead▸ [00:09:42] Job shadow career exploration: how to get inside a new industry with no experience, no portfolio, and no perfect pitch▸ [00:12:39] How to change careers using transferable skills: from a one-week shadow to a paid pilot to a primary role — the step-by-step▸ [00:25:33] Financial planning for a midlife career change: the real income trade-offs, dual-income considerations, and how to decide if the numbers work▸ [00:29:28] Identifying transferable skills women over 40 underestimate: and what Joanna's employers say her true superpower isIf HIR has been valuable to you, you can support the show here: https://ko-fi.com/herintentionalresetNo pressure — just making it easy for listeners who want to say so.